Following the US presidential election, Foreign Minister Westerwelle expects close transatlantic cooperation to continue. He hopes for new impetus in the disarmament field.

Election night at the Times Square in New York

“In the last two years we have made good progress on disarmament,” Westerwelle declared on election night (the night of 6 to 7 November) in New York, where he is staying to participate in several meetings at the United Nations. “However, another resolute step still has to be taken,” he added. In this connection Westerwelle called upon the United States and Russia to be willing to engage in dialogue with each other following the elections and “to enhance security throughout the world by providing new impetus in the disarmament field”.

He also expressed his hope that the future US administration will energetically work towards economic growth and free trade. Westerwelle said that cooperation with the Obama Administration had been very good so far and that there was especially close coordination on foreign policy issues. “Here we will continue our successful course,” Westerwelle added.

Although the final election results are not yet available, forecasts show President Obama to be the clear winner. His challenger, Republican candidate Mitt Romney, conceded defeat and congratulated Obama.

Polling location in Kansas City (archive)

The German President and Chancellor offer their congratulations

Federal Chancellor Merkel sent Barack Obama a letter congratulating him on his re-election. She wrote that she very much looked forward to pursuing their dialogue “so that our countries can continue to stand together shoulder‑to‑shoulder in tackling the important foreign policy and economic challenges we face as friends and allies”.

In his congratulatory letter, Federal President Joachim Gauck emphasized the common values shared byGermanyand theUnited States. These values form the foundation of the longstanding friendship between the two countries and peoples, he wrote. He underlined that as partners the two states are called upon “to tackle global challenges and threats to freedom, peace, prosperity and the environment”.